Box Score Dec. 19, 2014 Box Score
BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar Cardinals (4-6) jumped out to an 11-0 lead and never trailed Friday evening knocking off Milligan College (10-4), 80-53, to record their second consecutive victory. The win moved Lamar to 2-0 on its current five-game homestand.
"Coming into tonight, we felt like we needed to beat Milligan on the glass and have balanced scoring," said head coach Tic Price. "I really thought we did a good job in both areas. We knew we would have a height advantage and we utilized that. If I had to give us a grade it would be either a C-plus, or a B-minus. We are still working on the right combinations but these guys played their hearts out tonight."
The Buffaloes didn't crack the scoreboard until the 15:43 mark when Port Arthur native Mickey Woods sank one of two free throws. The former Memorial High School standout finished the game with a team-high 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting, but was 0-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down three rebounds, dished out an assist and recorded a steal for the Buffaloes.
Following the Milligan free throw, the Cards pushed their lead to 15 points before the Buffaloes made a run to the cut the advantage to nine. Milligan's Gabriel Logan sank a basket with 5:30 remaining in the opening half to cut the lead to single digits and that would be as close as the Buffaloes would get as the Cardinals picked up consecutive wins for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Lamar kept Milligan College at bay with a strong shooting performance in the opening half. The Cardinals connected on 19-of-32 (.594) shots in the first half to build an insurmountable lead. It marked the third-straight half of basketball where the Cardinals have shot better than 59 percent from the field. Lamar's shooting led to a 20-3 run as the Cardinals built their advantage to 26 points before the Buffaloes closed the half with two free throws to go into the locker room down 48-24.
The Cardinals dominated the glass in the opening, 25-15, while holding their guests to below 30 percent (9-of-33/.273) from the field. Although Lamar cooled off in the final 20 minutes, 8-of-24 (.333), the Buffaloes didn't have the firepower to get back into the game. Milligan cut the lead to 22 several times in the second half, but the Cardinals always responded with a small run to get the advantage back to 28 points.
The Cardinals took advantage of Milligan's turnovers as well, while limiting the damage from their own mistakes. The Buffaloes coughed up the ball 17 times which Lamar converted into 23 points, while LU only allowed nine points from its 15 miscues. Lamar also outrebounded the Buffaloes, 46-29.
The Cardinals finished the night shooting 48 percent as a team, as four players struck for double figures. Ross led the way with 21, while seniors Tyran de Lattibeaudiere and Anthony Holliday each had 14. De Lattibeaudiere became the third Cardinal in as many games to record a double-double as he also pulled down 14 rebounds. Junior Dontavious Sears came off the bench to add 11 points in 18 minutes of action.
Woods was one of two Milligan players in double figures. Morgan McLeod scored 10 points as the Buffaloes finished the night, 21-of-60 (.350), from the field but 2-of-23 (.087) from beyond the arc.
The Cardinals return to action Monday when they will host Rice. The game against the Owls is slated to begin at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center.
-LAMAR-
